That's Me With You
by Letters to Ghosts
Summary: Rayna chooses option number three. At least for a little while.
1. Chapter 1

Rayna stared at the two rings lying on her kitchen counter and wondered when her life had turned into a soap opera. She felt she should have noticed. Because two men had proposed to her last night, and if she was going to be honest, she hadn't seen either of those two proposals coming.

Everyone was now expecting her to decide, and by everyone, she meant Deacon and Tandy. Luke, bless his heart, was blissfully unaware of Deacon's late-night shenanigans and was probably already in the middle of negotiating the rights to their sure-to-be outrageously expensive wedding.

Rayna hadn't gotten any sleep all night. The girls were with Teddy, but this morning, her sister had dropped by with a copy of the Tennessean – and its hideous front page – as well as her unambiguous opinion about who Rayna should choose.

She took a deep breath before she put the rings in her purse, grabbed her keys and headed for the door. She knew what she had to do, and the decision, in the end, had been a lot easier to make than one would expect.

—

It was a beautiful day at the ranch. Rayna closed her eyes and soaked up the sun while waiting for Luke to come back from his ride. She felt good. Much better than she should have felt, considering what she was about to do. She was in control, and she realized it was a sensation she hadn't experienced in a long time. These last months had been a succession of events she'd had to react to; Deacon learning about Maddie, their accident, her dad's death, Scarlett's breakdown. Even with Luke, all she'd done was follow suit, he was the one who had made all the efforts to move their relationship forward.

She opened her eyes when she heard her name being called in the distance. She waved at Luke who was riding back to the stables. He galloped the last half-mile, and it crossed her mind he would have been less eager to get to her if he had known why she was there.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"What, you couldn't stay away from me?" he joked as he got down from his horse. He walked toward her, kissed her cheek, and it felt suddenly more difficult for her to look at him.

"Honey, we need to talk."

"Alright."

"I've been up all night thinking about us, and I don't believe... I don't believe I can marry you."

"Rayna, what are you talking about? Last night, you said yes, you—"

"I _know_, but it all went so fast, I hadn't had time to think about it."

To say it had been a surprise was an understatement. The public proposal, the grand gesture, it was so him. But it wasn't her. This alone raised the question of how well he really knew her.

"And now you have?"

"Now I have." There was a loaded pause. "Listen, I keep making the same mistakes over and over again in my life. And it's a cycle, and I've got to break it. I can't do to you what I did to Teddy."

"I'm not Teddy."

"I know."

"But I'm not Deacon, either, am I?"

"It's Deacon, but it's not Deacon," she said. It was the truth. "It's me. It's who I've always been. It's who I need to be."

"I'd rather you had the guts to tell me last night instead of letting the press run with it."

"Well, the press would have run with it anyway since you ambushed me on stage," she blurted out, and it came out harsher than she'd intended. "I'm sorry, it's not what I—"

"No, I get it," Luke interrupted. "I guess I should be grateful you chose to change your mind today and not, say, on the day of our wedding, in front of all our friends," he snarked.

"Luke—"

"Rayna, it's fine. I respect your right to turn down my proposal, least you can do is respect my right to be bitter about it."

—

An hour later, Rayna was standing on Deacon's porch. She'd texted him as she was leaving Luke's ranch to ask if she could drop by.

The door opened before she even had time to knock. He let her in, and she was aware he was watching her, trying to interpret any sign that might give him a clue as to what she was about to say. He was rather skilled at this game. She saw no reason to beat around the bush.

"I broke it off with Luke," she announced, "but I'm not going to say yes to you either, Deacon."

"Ray—"

"You had no intention of asking me to marry you until you saw Luke propose."

What he'd tried to do was not miss out on an opportunity that she hadn't given him the first time around with Teddy. She got that part. But it wasn't the way he should have done it.

"I thought I was going to lose you," he admitted. _Again_ was what he didn't say out loud.

"I wouldn't have married Luke even if you hadn't showed up last night."

That day at the cabin when she and Deacon had talked about Maddie, she'd felt something had shifted between them. There had been moments since then, at Fort Campbell or when she'd picked up Maddie's guitar, that had reinforced her sentiment it was only a matter of time before they would find their way back to each other.

"Well, you said yes. _On stage_."

"What did you want me to do, turn him down in front of thousands of people?" she asked. "Don't answer that," she was quick to add when she saw him smile. His amusement was contagious enough that she ended up smiling too.

"Jeez," she groaned, throwing her head back. She looked at him then and shook her head in disbelief. What a crazy 24 hours it had been.

"What do we do now?" he asked.

"Now, we take it _slow_."

—

She drove home after that, collapsed into bed, and finally slept for what seemed like a whole week.

—

Luke's team, despite Bucky's objections, decided there was no reason to delay the announcement of the broken engagement. As a result, Rayna spent what was supposed to be a few days of press for her album answering questions about Ruke's swan song. She tried to stick to the PR script. _It happens. Yes, we both agreed it was the best decision. No, there wasn't anyone else involved._

One fortunate consequence of her love life's latest developments, however, was that her oldest daughter was over the moon. It was nice to have a happy and cordial Maddie around instead of the sulky teenager Rayna had gotten accustomed to.

As for all good things in life, though, it wasn't meant to last.

—

Rayna had been sitting in her parked car for about ten minutes when Maddie walked out of Deacon's house. It was pouring down, and her daughter pulled her coat's hood up before she proceeded to run to the car. She had barely closed the passenger's door when she declared, furious, "You need to talk to your ex-boyfriend."

"Hello to you, too."

She threw her bag on the backseat before she turned back to her mom. "He's making Deacon go on tour with him."

"Who?"

"Luke! He won't release him from his contract, so now Deacon has to go on tour, or Luke will sue him."

"That's... insane."

On second thought, it wasn't insane. It was, in fact, a rather clever, albeit spiteful move. She'd told Luke turning down his proposal wasn't about Deacon. He could now claim all this wasn't about her.

"Deacon asked me not to tell you, he says he wants to deal with this by himself, but I think you should do something."

"I'll take care of this, honey," she promised her daughter.

—

One week later, Deacon was leaving for tour, and Rayna realized she had underestimated the magnitude of the grudge Luke held against her.

Rayna's own tour was starting in one month, and while she had previously hoped Deacon could have been part of it, it was now going be months before they would have a chance to spend time together again.

It was not what she'd meant when she'd said they needed to take it slow. It felt like the universe was playing with her.

—

Two weeks.

She lasted two weeks.

On the second Friday, she booked last-minute plane tickets, packed for three, and went to pick up her daughters at school.

"Girls, we're going on a trip," she laconically informed them, before she drove everyone to the airport.

—

Deacon's room was on the 8th floor, and yet Rayna wondered if they should have used the stairs. They had been waiting for this elevator for ages. She pushed the button one more time even though she knew it was pointless.

Maddie caught her surveying the hotel's lobby. "Afraid to see Luke?" she asked.

"We're adults, honey." At least, one of them was, the other was holding Deacon hostage in his petty attempt to avenge his wounded pride. "Well, yes, maybe," Rayna eventually admitted, much to her daughter's amusement.

Maddie and Daphne had decided they shouldn't tell Deacon they were coming, that it would be more fun to surprise him. Rayna wasn't convinced it was the best idea, but it was too late to change their mind now anyway.

—

They spent most of the morning exploring the city, and when noon came around, they chose a restaurant not far from the venue Deacon was performing at. After lunch, they all walked there, the girls a few steps ahead of them, so Rayna and Deacon finally got a moment alone.

She still couldn't tell what was going through Deacon's mind. He hadn't seemed unhappy to see them, but he'd seemed less thrilled that she'd thought he would be.

"I'm sorry we surprised you like that," she tried, testing the waters.

"No, it's fine, Ray. I'm happy you did."

"You are?"

"Of course." There was a long pause. "I _am_," he insisted, "but, you know, it's just... I'm stuck on this tour, away from you, away from the girls. I spend all my time in my hotel room, trying to avoid Luke or Will's TV crew or anyone, really. I'm not exactly having the time of my life at the moment."

"I'm sorry, babe," she said, hooking her arm around his.

"It's not your fault."

She winced. "Well, it is."

"I'm the one who agreed on this tour in the first place. And I'm not sure why. Luke's fans aren't what I'd call my target audience."

"You need to _quit_," she stressed.

"Do you think Luke was bluffing when he said he would sue me?" Deacon asked. Rayna wished she could have said yes. "Yeah, I wouldn't bet my life on it either," he went on, not waiting for her answer. "I just hope he'll soon get tired of trying to prove... whatever point he's trying to prove."

—

Deacon woke up to a text from Rayna. He smiled at the picture of the four of them she'd just sent him. They had said their goodbyes last night as, this morning, she and the girls had a plane to catch and he had a bus to drag his unwilling ass into. They had made plans for his next week off. He was going to split it between Nashville – he had promised the girls he would take them fishing – and wherever Rayna would be on tour by then.

He noticed the time on his phone. "Fuck." He was going to be late. He leapt out of bed, got ready in no time before he hurried out of his hotel room.

The parking lot was mostly empty, so he assumed everyone had boarded the bus already. Mark, their driver, was still waiting next to the luggage hold, and he helped him stow his bag and guitar case. "Thanks, man." He climbed the few steps leading into the bus.

As he entered the front lounge, he stopped in his tracks. Sitting on the couch, laughing at some joke his drummer had just told, was Rayna.

"Hey," she said when she spotted him. "We were about to start betting on whether you'd show up or not."

"Hey," was all he managed.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. The guys invited me over for poker. I hope you don't mind?"

She smiled then, and he didn't care there were five other people there who were certain to tease him about it for the rest of the tour, he walked to her and kissed her until he was sure he'd conveyed how much he _didn't mind_.

"I guess that's a no," she joshed, when they came up for air. She grabbed his shirt, pulling him down so he would sit next to her.

"Where are the girls?" he asked.

"On a plane to Nashville, Teddy is picking them up at the airport." Her hand landed on his leg, her thumb stroking his thigh. "I thought you might like a little company."

"Thanks," he murmured.

"So, Deac," his drummer asked as he threw a deck of cards on the table, "you're in?"

"You bet."

—

Deacon wandered through the shelves of the gas station's shop. It was their first stop in a few hours, and he was happy to be given the opportunity to stretch his legs. He picked some snacks on his way to the checkout, and he smiled when he realized he had unconsciously chosen Rayna's favorites.

He waited in line before he paid and headed for the exit. He found Rayna right outside the door. It took him a few seconds to realize why she was standing there.

"Ray?"

"Yeah?"

"Where is the bus?"

"I was going to ask you just that."

"You didn't see it leave?"

"At the risk of stating the obvious, no." They looked at each other then, and she couldn't help her following laugh. "Deacon Claybourne's bus left without Deacon Claybourne."

"They did this on purpose, right? There's no way they didn't do this on purpose. Do you have your phone?"

"If they did this on purpose, they're not going to answer."

She reached for the phone in her purse and handed it to him anyway. He cursed when he realized that, of course, he didn't know any of the numbers by heart. They were all memorized on his phone. Which was _in the damn bus_.

"Why would they abandon you?" Rayna asked, in between popping Maltesers in her mouth from a bag she'd just stolen from Deacon. She sounded weirdly unfazed by their current situation. "Did your legendary charm wore off?" she added, amused.

"They left you, too," he pointed out.

"Ouch." She chuckled. "Do you believe they planned this? Now that I think about it, we were the only people who got out of the bus."

If true, Deacon thought he might have a good idea why. He'd spent a whole lot of time complaining to his band members about how he wished he was in Nashville spending time with Rayna instead of on this tour from hell. Now it was their way of letting him spend time with Rayna.

"What do we do?" she asked.

He sighed, looking around, when something caught his attention. He grinned. "What do you think?" he said, jutting his head in the direction of a motorcycle with a big 'FOR SALE' sign.

Rayna followed his gaze. "Not a chance _in hell_."

"Come on, Ray," he coaxed. "Do you have a better idea?" He hoped not because he thought this trip was about to take a very interesting turn.

"Hang on," she said, much to his disappointment, before she walked back inside the gas station.

He waited outside until she reappeared, a smile on. "So, the manager told me there aren't any cars for sale at the moment, but he might have something for us."

"Something?"

—

"How is _this_ a better idea?" Deacon lamented, gesturing at the light blue VW van parked in front of him. "This thing looks older than me."

Rayna had already climbed in the driver's seat while he was still standing next to the opened passenger's door.

"It probably is. Come on, get in."

"And why are _you_ driving?"

"Because you keep complaining." She put her aviators on. "Road trip!" she announced, and she sounded so gleeful all of a sudden that he wondered, for a second, if it was possible she might have been in cahoots with his mutinous band.

He hopped in. "Can't believe you bought this."

"It will be like old times, babe. Ready?"

—

_TBC_


	2. Chapter 2

They'd been on the road for less than ten minutes when Rayna's phone started ringing. Deacon searched through her purse, and when he saw Maddie's name on the screen, he picked up.

"Hey, sweetheart, I've put you on speakerphone. Your mom's here too."

Maddie had already texted back and forth with Rayna earlier to reassure her she and Daphne had landed safely and Teddy had picked them up as agreed at the airport. She'd promised she would call when they would be home.

"You're all on Deacon's bus?" Maddie asked. The hopefulness in her voice was hard to miss.

"Well, we're on _a_ bus trying to catch up with _the_ bus," Rayna explained.

"What does that mean?"

"It's a long story."

"But you're together, right?" Maybe Rayna would need to give her daughter a few lessons in subtlety.

"Yes, honey," she chuckled, "we're sitting right next to each other. I'm driving now, so we'll talk later, ok?"

"Ok."

"Love you, sweetheart."

"Love you, Mom. Love you, Dad."

Maddie hung up, and it took Deacon a few seconds to remember to breathe. _Dad_. This was new. When he looked over at Rayna, he realized she'd been taken off guard too. She was quick to compose herself when she felt his eyes on her.

"When did Maddie start—" she began, but Deacon didn't let her finish.

"Just now."

"Oh." She paused. "And how do you feel about it?"

His smile was worth a thousand words. He'd never expected to be called that, and he would never have put any pressure on Maddie to. He was just happy she'd chosen to.

Maybe Maddie didn't need lessons after all, Rayna thought. Her daughter knew exactly what she was doing.

—

"Is it broken?" Rayna asked as Deacon was trying to get the radio to work. They'd been driving for three hours with no tour bus in sight yet. Not that she minded in the least. They'd been talking, laughing, playing silly games they used to play back then.

"I think it's dead," Deacon announced. "We can try the player, if you happen to have a _cassette_." This van really was as old as he'd complained it was. He opened the glove box then and rummaged through it until, against all odds, he did indeed find one. "You've got to be kidding me." He burst out laughing.

"What?" Rayna asked.

He showed her the cassette case. On the cover was a young, mullet-sporting Luke Wheeler. No wonder the seller had left it there. Deacon threw it back inside.

"He's got a new song, you know. About your breakup."

Rayna glanced at him, wincing. "Do I want to know?"

"He doesn't mention your name, but it's implied. I almost walked on stage and punched him when I first heard it."

"Maybe _that_ would have gotten you fired." They exchanged a quick look and let out an involuntary laugh.

"That would have gotten me in jail, most likely. You don't have to worry it might become a hit, though. It's awful."

At least, she wasn't going to have to hear Luke throwing shade at her on country radio.

"Ok, can we stop talking about him now?"

"No complaint from me here." He was glad to switch the conversation. "Hey, I meant to ask, who are you taking on tour with you? You haven't made any announcement yet."

"Oh, I can't believe I forgot to tell you. I signed Sadie Stone to Highway 65, so she'll open for me. We're going to announce all this at her Ryman show next weekend."

"It's _great_, Ray."

Now he wished he could go. Maybe he should have tried to punch Luke after all.

—

They had run out of snacks, and temporarily out of ideas for songs to sing in place of the radio, when they decided it was probably time for a pause. They stopped at the first diner they found in what Deacon had dubbed the middle of nowhere.

The ended up sitting across each other in a mostly empty room, two cups of coffee and one slice of carrot cake on the table between them. It was Deacon who had ordered it, making sure to ask for two forks.

"I _love_ carrot cake," Rayna proclaimed, as if he didn't already know that.

He smiled. He also knew she would never have ordered one for herself. After a couple bites, she put her fork down, grabbed a pen in her purse and a napkin on the table, and she started writing on it.

"What are you doing?"

"Lyrics," she said laconically.

"It's a good cake, but not good enough to inspire a song."

She chuckled at that. "I got an idea for the song you showed me earlier, the one you're stuck on. I need to write it down before I forget."

He had all the time in the world to write, these days, and yet he seemed to be experiencing the worst writer's block of his life. He'd barely come up with half a chorus in two weeks, and he wasn't even entirely satisfied with it.

Once she was finished, she slid the napkin across the table.

"What do you think?" she asked, with genuine anticipation.

"It's... perfect, baby."

At that, she smiled and picked up her fork again, taking another bite of cake. He stole her pen, added two more lines under hers before he slid the napkin back. She started singing the words.

"Well, I guess we got you a first verse," she confirmed, looking pleased. "Oh, and once we're done with this," she said, gesturing at the napkin, "you and I are writing that carrot cake song."

—

By the time it was dark, they'd made plans to stop for the night and finish the trip in the morning, the idea of ever catching up with the bus happily forgotten. This was why, when Deacon spotted the said bus in front of a diner a moment later, he almost chose not to stop. He decided against it, though, and pulled over in the parking lot.

Of course, the bus was more comfortable to travel into. And safer. And all their stuff was inside. And it was, by any standard, the most logical choice.

Yet, neither of them seemed eager to get out of the van.

"You know what?" Deacon said. "Wait here."

She saw him run to the diner and, five minutes later, walk out with their driver by his side. She watched Mark open the luggage hold as Deacon disappeared inside the bus. He came out with his messenger bag on his shoulder and grabbed a larger bag, a suitcase and a guitar case Mark was handing to him. They shook hands before Deacon carried everything to the van. Rayna rolled the window down as he was approaching.

"It's yours, right?" he asked, pointing to the suitcase.

"Yeah."

He put everything in the back before he got behind the wheel. "Let's finish this trip the right way."

—

"Six weeks," he sighed.

"Six weeks," she repeated, letting go of his hug, and kissing him one last time.

They had left their motel room later than planned this morning, neither of them showing any willingness to get out of bed. The traffic had been awful, and they had lost even more time on the road. As a result, they now had about ten minutes left before Deacon needed to catch a cab to the venue and she needed to leave for the airport.

Ten minutes to say goodbye and six weeks before they would see each other again.

—

"Deacon thinks we should record our version of 'Gasoline & Matches.' The girls sent him a few videos from the last shows."

"You know I am up for that," Sadie said as she kicked her shoes off and flopped down on Rayna's dressing room's couch.

It had become a ritual for her to drop by in between their sets, and Rayna didn't mind in the least. In fact, Sadie was the one who had made her first two weeks of tour a lot more bearable. She was a genuinely fun person to be around, and her being on a Rayna Jaymes tour put her in an even better mood. She was having the time of her life, and it rubbed off on the people around her.

"I'll talk to Buck about it. We could do some promo around it. Maybe it'll change the conversation, and I'll stop being asked about that _other_ thing."

"Still? It's ludicrous."

"Right? It's been two months, and I've already answered every possible question."

It would have been easier if she could have kept a low profile for a while, but with the new album and the tour, it wasn't an option.

"Do you think Deacon would agree to play guitar on it?"

"Of course."

That was if they could find a working schedule, because as much as she liked the idea of recording that duet, she wasn't going to sacrifice any of the already scarce moments she could spend alone with Deacon.

—

Missing Deacon wasn't exactly a foreign feeling for Rayna.

She'd spent 13 years missing him, in one way or another. In one way more than another. The kind of way that caused her to slide her hand between her legs late at night, alone in her master suite, to imagine those were his fingers and he was whispering into her ear, nipping at her earlobe, telling her how much he'd fucking _missed_ her.

But there had been a good reason, a sensible reason, why they'd never crossed the line. The reason behind their current situation, however, was plain ridiculous. And God helped her if she wasn't going to find a way to put an end to it.

She didn't have anything planned that couldn't be postponed until next afternoon, and there was only a three-hour drive between her and Deacon.

—

At 10:45 am, she was knocking on his hotel room's door.

There was no doubting, this time, he was happy to see her. She gasped as he grabbed her waist and pulled her inside.

"Missed me?" she chuckled.

They spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon in bed, until it was about time for him to leave for the venue. She was still lying half on top of him, her head on his chest, when she said, "I have a plan."

He pulled his head up to look down at her. "A plan?"

"A plan," she repeated, before she kissed his shoulder and slid out of bed. She stopped at the bathroom's threshold, turning back to him. "Let's just say that if it works, tomorrow night you'll be standing next to me on the Allstate Arena stage."

He jumped out of bed, following her naked ass into the bathroom. "I'm going to need more information here, baby."

—

Luke was still standing in the middle of the stage, having just finished his soundcheck, when Rayna walked over to him.

"Hey."

"Hey." He snorted. "I would ask what you're doing around here, but I guess I have a pretty good idea." He watched past her, expecting to see Deacon on the side of the stage, but he wasn't there.

"I wanted to talk to you, actually," she said, her voice quiet and steady.

"What about?"

"Well, I wanted to thank you."

He laughed at that. "What on earth could you possibly want to thank me for?"

"I wanted to thank you for still taking Deacon on this tour. I mean, despite what happened between you and me. He won't say it, but it's a huge opportunity for him. And it's very gracious of you." She grabbed his arm. "You're a good man, Luke Wheeler."

She walked away then, and smiled once she had her back to him and was sure he couldn't see her face. She stopped, though, and turned around. "Oh, and I can't wait to watch the show tonight. I heard you had a new song?"

—

The next morning, Deacon was fired and sitting next to Rayna in a plane en route to Chicago.

—

_TBC_

_A/N: I know the first time Maddie called Deacon "Dad" was in season 2, but I've always wished Rayna would have been there. This story is AU, so bear with me. Also, should Rayna & Deacon write that carrot cake song? Weigh in in the comments. (I'm kidding.)_


	3. Chapter 3

It had been nine months since Rayna and Deacon had last stood on the same stage together. Nine months, two days and twenty-three hours. Not that she'd been counting, but the date was easy to remember. That night, she'd been wearing a blue rhinestone bustier, and he an all-black suit which matched with the murderous look he'd been throwing her through their whole performance of 'Bitter Memory.' She'd had big post-show plans for that bustier that had never come to fruition since it was, of course, the night all hell had broken loose.

Even if neither of them dared to mention it, she knew it was what was going through both their minds, tonight, as they were standing on the side of the stage, waiting to go on. The band went first, as they always did, and she smiled when Deacon briefly turned around to wink at her.

"Should I be jealous? It sounds like y'all missed him more than I did," she later joked with the crowd as she introduced her musicians and, in particular, Deacon. He and Adria made a great team, something everyone had already come to appreciate during the few weeks he and Rayna had been back together before the accident.

On stage, it was like no time had passed. Off stage, they were both well aware of what they'd gone through these last nine months, and neither was taking their current happiness for granted.

—

"What is it with us and Chicago elevators?" Rayna asked, gasping.

One floor and he'd had her pressed against the wall. Two floors and his hands had found their way to her ass. Three floors and he'd slid his knee between her legs. At this rate, they were never going to make it to the penthouse.

"Been thinking about this all evening, Ray," he whispered, and she moaned as she rubbed against him, her eyes snapping shut.

She had a feeling they weren't going to spend a lot of time at after-parties in the coming week.

They had some catching up to do.

—

It was Rayna, this time, who knocked on Sadie's half-open dressing room's door. "Do you have a minute for me?" she asked, poking her head in the opening.

"Always."

Sadie was standing in front of the mirror, touching up her gloss, so Rayna settled in the empty makeup chair. "I haven't seen you in a few days, I wanted to check if everything was alright."

Sadie seemed surprised. "Everything's fine. I just thought _you_ might be busy, so I didn't want to bother you."

"Oh." Rayna paused. "Well, we might want to try this thing called _communication_ next time."

Sadie chuckled at that. "Definitely."

"Want to grab a bite with me and Deacon after the show? We'll talk about recording our duet now that scheduling isn't an issue anymore."

"Sounds good. I'm finally going to meet Deacon Claybourne then."

Rayna looked up at her, confused. "You... haven't met him?" Sadie shook her head. She'd caught sight of him around, but she had yet to officially meet him. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry I forgot to introduce you two."

"I was starting to wonder if you used an hologram on stage, and you kept the real one locked up in your room."

"Shut _up_." They laughed, and Rayna bumped Sadie's shoulder as she got up. She headed in the direction of the door. "You, me, Deacon, after the show. It's a date."

"Ok."

"I promise I'll bring the real one!" Rayna added over her shoulder.

—

Scarlett made the three-hour drive to Memphis to see the show.

Rayna and Deacon had their next night off, so she decided to stay one more day, and they found a quiet place with a beautiful outdoor patio to have dinner at. Scarlett brought them up to date on her songwriting, Zoey's party, Avery's arrest, and all the latest Nashville news. It was a warm late summer evening, and afterwards, they wandered in the streets for a bit, with no specific destination in mind.

"What do y'all want to do?" Rayna asked, after a while.

"Karaoke," Scarlett suggested, quite out of the blue.

"Um, ok." Rayna didn't know where this was coming from, so she wanted to make sure Scarlett was aware of what it entailed. "But you realize that if I go, people will take pics and videos, and it's very likely we'll all end up on social media before the end of the evening, right?"

Scarlett shrugged. "I don't mind. It will be fun. I'm going to see if I can find a place around here," she said, taking her phone out of her purse.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Deacon asked Rayna, as Scarlett was busy searching.

"Well, Scarlett wants to sing _in public_ again. It can only be a good thing, right?"

He couldn't argue with that.

They walked to a little bar, fifteen minutes from there, that Scarlett had just read raving reviews about. They had barely ordered when Deacon spotted a woman trying to steal a pic of Rayna.

"This was fast," he snarked.

By the time Scarlett and Rayna were on stage, belting out Dolly Parton's '9 to 5,' there were a dozen phones aimed at them. It looked more like a private gig than a karaoke night. Rayna didn't seem to mind, though, and Scarlett was having a blast. By popular demand, they did a few more songs together. Rayna then got ambushed on their way back to their booth, and she had to stop to sign autographs, chat with people, but all in harmless fun.

"Are we going to talk about the fact you just sang on stage and you seemed to enjoy the hell out of it?" Deacon asked when Scarlett sat back at their table.

"It's just karaoke," she tried to brush it off. "And having Rayna with me helped."

"I think there's more to it."

Scarlett stared down at her beer which was probably warm now. "I don't know. There were parts of performing that I really loved, but it was always so lonely up there."

"It doesn't have to be."

She looked up, with a hint of a smile. "Maybe. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Your solo career was taking off, and now you're back in Rayna's band."

_Taking off_ was not the word Deacon would have used. Opening for Luke had done more damage to his solo career than good.

"You'll have to trust me when I say, right now, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."

—

"Where are you going?" Deacon groaned, half-awake, his hand sliding off Rayna's hip as she got out of bed.

"We need to be ready in 30 minutes," she shouted from the bathroom. "Buck and Sadie are coming over for the announcement."

"I think I've lost my mojo," he grumbled.

"What?" Rayna called.

When he entered the bathroom, she was standing in front of the sink, brushing her teeth. He grabbed his own toothbrush. "I think I've lost my mojo," he repeated. "Last year, I made you forget all about the CMA nominations."

She laughed at that, spitting out some toothpaste on the mirror in the process. "Shit." She rinsed her mouth before saying, "I can assure you, babe, your mojo is still very much intact."

She disappeared into the bedroom, and when he followed, a minute later, she was sitting on the bed, busy with her phone. She still had her pajama shorts on, but she'd removed her top, having seemingly been distracted by a text in the middle of getting undressed. He took her phone away.

"What are you do—" she began. He silenced her with a kiss and ended up lying on top of her.

"We don't have time," her mouth protested, but her hand was already stroking him through his boxers. Her mind and body sometimes seemed to have divergent opinions when it came to Deacon.

"I'm all intent on proving you wrong."

She raised an eyebrow, smiling. "You better make good on your claims, Claybourne."

He grinned down at her. "Yes, Ma'am."

—

"Hey!"

"Hi! Good girl. You brought that champagne."

Rayna closed the door behind Sadie who had already started to make her way to the suite's couch. "I did. I don't normally drink this early in the morning."

The TV was on, muted, and Rayna grabbed three flutes as well as two bottles of orange juice from the minibar before she went to sit next to Sadie. "It's the CMA nominations. It's your first shot at a nod! You got to have a glass of champagne."

There was another knock on the door, and Deacon chose that moment to make his appearance from the bedroom. "I'll get that," he announced. His hair was stil wet from the shower, and he was in the middle of buttoning his shirt.

"Thanks, babe."

Buck took his eyes off his phone long enough to shake Deacon's hand. "Hey, Deac." He squeezed Rayna's shoulder as he walked by the couch. "Nervous?"

"You're going to jinx it, Buck."

Deacon settled next to Rayna. Awards had never been his thing, and he would normally have stayed out of this. The only validation he needed for his music was to know that people liked it. But it was the first year for Highway 65, and he knew what it meant for Rayna. Some asshole from a morning show this past week had suggested she should have waited until the nominations to break her engagement to Luke, that it would probably have boosted her chances. Even if she'd pretended she didn't care, he'd seen it had been bothering her.

He wanted to be there for her.

—

Seven nominations for Highway 65 was more than Rayna had ever hoped for.

She'd snatched four herself, Sadie had gotten one in the 'New Artist' category, and Juliette and Avery had landed one for their co-write of 'Don't Put Dirt on My Grave Just Yet.' The one Rayna was the most delighted about, though, was 'Musical Event of the Year.' 'Gasoline and Matches' had stolen the spot everybody thought was promised to 'Ball and Chain,' and it made Rayna ridiculously, _ridiculously_ happy.

—

"Thanks for coming over tonight."

Rayna was standing in the middle of her living room, her CMA Awards dress on. The choice had been made two weeks ago, but this was the final fitting with her stylist.

"Oh, no worries, I know you've been on the road. And, from what I can see, we just take it in a little bit right here, and you'll be all set for tomorrow night."

"You're a lifesaver, honey."

She heard the front door open and her daughters' voices echoing through the hall. They soon barged in the living room, followed by an amused Deacon.

"Hey, y'all. Did you catch any fish?"

"Yeah," Maddie said, "but we ended up releasing them. Because of this one," she complained, pointing an incriminating finger at Daphne.

"They were so cute, we were not going to _kill_ them," her sister protested, as if it was the most absurd idea in the world.

Rayna smiled at Deacon, a smug 'I told you so' look on her face. She'd warned him the only thing Daphne was going to let him cook on a campfire were s'mores.

"We're going to order pizza," Maddie announced. "Do you want one, Mom?"

Rayna glimpsed down at her dress and sighed. "I'll... pass."

Deacon walked over to her, taking his cap off and stealing a kiss. "You are _gorgeous_, baby."

"Thanks." She smiled. "Still wanna be my date then?" she joked.

There was nothing, and she meant _nothing_, that was going to stop her from attending the CMA Awards with Deacon Claybourne this year.

—

Rayna was bustling around the bedroom, trying to finish getting ready. She stopped in front of the full-length mirror for one last check. She was oddly nervous. She forced herself to calm down.

_Breathe in. Breathe out._

As she was about to put her shoes on, she heard the doorbell ring. It was probably the limo. "Babe, can you get that?" she called. She got no response. "Babe?" she called, louder this time. A second ring. Damn, this house was too big. She grabbed her clutch and shoes, and she hurried down the stairs barefoot, as fast as she could in her dress. When she opened the door, Deacon was standing on the other side.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm one year late, baby, but I'm here to pick you up."

She grinned as she took the flowers he was handing her. "Please, come in," she played along.

"You're ready?" he asked. "I saw the limo in the driveway."

"Yeah." She pulled a vase out of a cabinet, filled it with water before she placed the flowers in. "Do you have your speech?"

"My speech?"

"If 'This Time' wins 'Single of the Year,' I'm dragging your cute little ass on stage with me, I'm warning you."

"My cute little ass and I are fine going on stage, but we won't make any damn speech."

She smiled. "We'll see."

—

_TBC_


	4. Chapter 4

They were still in the limo, a five-minute drive from the Bridgestone Arena, when Deacon's phone buzzed in the pocket of his suit's jacket. He reached for it with his free hand, his other one not letting go of Rayna. It was a text from his daughter. The girls were having a sleepover at his place to watch the show with Scarlett, and judging by the photo he'd just received, they had already broken out the pink mocktails and the party mix.

"Maddie wants to know where we are. She says they've seen Juliette and Sadie on the red carpet."

Deacon didn't remember the last time he had sat in the audience of an awards show. When Rayna was still married to Teddy and he was in her band, he tended to disappear after they had performed. During his fishing trip with Maddie and Daphne yesterday, he'd playfully asked them for last-minute advice. "Don't become a meme," her daughter had told him, like he was supposed to know what it meant. "Don't roll your eyes on TV," Daphne had translated for him. Since Luke was nominated for five awards, it was easier said than done.

"You're ok?" Deacon asked.

He knew Rayna was nervous but also annoyed about tonight. Once it had been announced she and Luke were the most nominated artists this year, the press had been quick to fabricate a rivalry between the two and hype it up since then. Just when she'd thought she was finally done talking about their aborted engagement, she'd had to start answering a whole new bunch of questions about Luke. She was expecting some more in a few minutes on the red carpet.

"We can skip it, if you want," Deacon suggested.

She shook her head. "Nope." It had been a while since she had last stood on a red carpet with Deacon by her side. She wasn't going to let anything ruin this for her.

—

On the plus side, Rayna was already three for three, with two still to be announced, and Deacon couldn't be more thrilled for her. On the downside, they weren't seeing much of each other as, as a result, she was spending most of her time on or backstage.

On a commercial break, ten minutes before Sadie's performance, he decided to go looking for her. He knew she was going to want to watch from the side of the stage. There was no sign of Rayna when he got there, but he found Sadie, standing with her black guitar around her neck, waiting to go on. She seemed lost in her thoughts. When he put his hand on her shoulder, she flinched.

"Sorry," Deacon apologized, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, no, no. It's me, I was... distracted." She put a forced smile on.

"Everything ok?" he asked. He wasn't used to see her like this. Of course, it was her first performance at an awards show, but he suspected there was something else.

"Yeah." She hesitated. "It's just... My ex texted me. I don't know how he got my number, but he did. He wished me luck. And then he asked for his cut."

"His cut?"

"My single's about him."

"He co-wrote it with you?"

"He made me live it. Does that count?" she asked, the bitterness obvious in her voice.

"Hey, listen, don't let that jerk, or anybody else, take this night away from you. If you're here, it's because you _deserve_ to be here."

"Performing 'You Can't Stop Me,' here is 'New Artist of the Year' nominee Sadie Stone," they heard the speaker announce.

She closed her eyes for a second, steeling herself. "Thank you," she breathed, before heading to the stage.

She was in the middle of her first verse when Deacon felt two arms slide around his waist from behind. "Hey, stranger," Rayna teased, pressing herself against him.

He turned around, grinning as he wrapped his own arms around her. "Hey, I know you."

She grimaced. "I'm sorry we're not seeing much of each other."

"Well, your seat-filler is on cloud nine. I think I've posed for more selfies with her tonight than I have in my entire life."

"Who are you and what have you done with Deacon Claybourne?" she joked. She sounded much more relaxed than an hour and a half ago in the limo. It made him happy.

She settled in his arms and they watched the rest of Sadie's performance. At one point, he leaned forward, speaking into her ear, "Hey, one of these days, you might want to have a talk with her. Just... make sure she's alright."

Rayna frowned, not sure she understood. "Do I need to worry?"

"I don't know. I don't think so, but... I'll explain later," he added.

"Ok."

—

Between all the wins, the relief the evening had gone without a hitch, and with a little help from the champagne, Rayna had been downright giddy when they'd left the Bridgestone Arena. The look she'd thrown Deacon as they'd climbed into the limo had left little room for interpretation. By the time they'd pulled up in her driveway, they were both so turned on, it was a miracle they'd made it to the house.

They were now a motionless heap of entangled limbs on her living room's couch, Rayna's face in the hollow of his neck, his fingertips brushing against her hip. Deacon thought he might have to reconsider his stance on awards shows after tonight.

"And," Rayna began, her voice solemn, "the award for best post-show sex goes to..." She paused for effect. "Deacon Claybourne."

He grinned at her. "It is _such_ an honor," he played along, "I mean, especially this one. I'd like to thank the wonderful Rayna Jaymes without whom none of this would have been possible. Every day, she inspires me to work _hard_ and give my best."

Rayna chuckled in his ear. "Second round upstairs?" she purred.

"Does that mean I have to defend my title?"

"That's for sports, babe. I think you're mixing up your metaphors." She smiled then, like she'd just remembered something. "But I may have something for you." As she got up, she almost tripped over her feet and laughed when she realized she still had one shoe on. She had no idea how she'd ended up with nothing else but one shoe still on. She slipped it off before she walked to the kitchen. Deacon followed her, curious now.

Rayna reached for a colored cardboard box. It was Bucky who'd had it delivered in the afternoon. He'd sent her a box like this on the day of her first CMA Awards, and he'd kept sending one each year she was nominated since. It'd become some sort of superstition.

Rayna pulled up the lid, and Deacon let out a quiet laugh. Inside the box were eight cupcakes, each one with a big letter on it. Together it spelled 'GOOD LUCK.'

"It's on," he said, as he closed the lid, took the box with him and headed for the stairs. Rayna barely had time to grab the half empty glass of champagne she'd abandoned on the countertop earlier before she ran after him.

—

"Weird?" she asked.

"The weirdest," Deacon confirmed as Rayna kicked her boots off on the front entrance's carpet of late Lamar Wyatt's mansion.

Deacon hadn't stood in this house since probably three or four years before Maddie was born. During the latest years of his relationship with Rayna, he didn't bother to go to the family dinners anymore, he didn't see the point of having to spend a whole evening sitting at Lamar's table and listening to the same criticisms over and over again.

"I promise we won't be long, babe. I just want some things from my mom."

Since they had another few days in Nashville, Rayna had decided it was a good opportunity to be done with this. They were going to be away until mid-December then, and there was no way she was doing this around Christmas time. This house held too many memories she didn't want to have to deal with during the holidays season.

"Nothing from your dad?" Deacon asked.

"Nah, I don't think so."

They headed upstairs, and Rayna went to sit at her mom's old vanity table. She opened the jewellery box, and pulled a vintage brooch out of it.

"My mother wore this almost every day of her life," she explained, pinning the brooch to her shirt. "This and Chanel No. 5. I swear she was the original Steel Magnolia. I always wanted to be just like her."

"She would have been so proud of the woman you've become, Ray."

"I hope so." She smiled at the thought. "Anyway." She sighed. "Let's get to work."

—

An hour and a half later, they had unhooked a couple of portraits, filled a few boxes with photos, clothes, jewellery, and various items Rayna wanted to keep from her mom.

"I could already carry these to the truck," Deacon suggested, gesturing at the wrapped-up paintings.

"Thanks, babe."

On his way back, he stopped for a moment at the bottom of the porch stairs, gazing up. He remembered this house to be more imposing somehow. Of course, the first time he'd stood there, he was 19 years old, he'd never put a foot in a mansion like this before, and he wasn't even supposed to be there. Rayna had invited him to drop by while Lamar was out. He shook his head in disbelief when he thought about everything that had happened since.

When he arrived back upstairs, Rayna wasn't there anymore. "Ray?" he called.

"In here!" he heard from down the hallway.

He found her sitting on the edge of the bed in what used to be her room. It still looked the same as it did all those years ago. Lamar had never bothered to transform it. Deacon wasn't sure why, he doubted it was because of sentimentalism since the man had kicked his own daughter out of his house, but he'd never understood him anyway.

"You're ok?" he asked. He went to sit next to her.

"It's weird, you know. This house hasn't been my home for _such_ a long time, but I knew it still... was there. I mean, I knew there was still a tangible, physical place that held all the memories of my life with my mom, but now... it will belong to someone else. I hadn't really looked at it this way until now."

Deacon wrapped his arms around her, and she held tight to him for a moment. When she pulled back, she wiped off a few tears.

"Thanks for being here with me," she said, resting her forehead against his.

Besides Tandy, he was the only one who could understand, the only one who knew her enough to.

"We can stay a while longer. We're in no hurry."

"Maybe we should do that," she agreed. "You know, now that I think about it, there's one thing from my dad I'd like to keep."

—

"Christmas is not until next month, Mom."

"Oh, you're right, give me this back and I'll—"

"No, no, no! I'm sorry," Maddie recanted, amused. She started to unwrap the package Rayna had just given to her.

"It belonged to your grandpa," her mom explained, once Maddie was done. "He'd kept all these articles about my career and put them in an album. I had no idea he'd done that until last year."

"It's _great_."

"There are articles in there about me and your dad that I thought maybe you'd like to read."

Maddie looked at her. "_Thanks_," she said, meaning it.

As she was about to open the album, Rayna stopped her. "There's one rule, though."

Her daughter raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Not a single joke about the hair."

—

_TBC_

_A/N: I wanted to thank everyone for the sweet comments. The next update will probably take longer than a week because it's going to be a crappy month for me. But I know where I want to take this story, and I'll post as soon as I can._


	5. Chapter 5

Rayna could count on one hand the number of times she'd come to the Bluebird Cafe while she was still married to Teddy. That day she and Deacon had fought about Juliette's bribe of a guitar, and he'd accused her of not having been there, it had only hurt because it was true. It had started to change after that, and it was no surprise that it had coincided with she and Deacon finding their way back to each other. This place held so much history for them. It was the place where they'd met, the place that had started it all. So when Bucky had informed them, a few days after New Year's, that there was a documentary about the Bluebird in the works and that they had been asked to be part of it, they'd both said yes before her manager even had time to finish explaining.

The filming crew was still in the midst of setting up equipment when Deacon held the door for Rayna, Daphne and Maddie to step inside the venue. They were early, the four of them having been equally eager to get there. For once, Rayna hadn't had to shout through the house for the girls to hurry.

The director walked toward them as soon as he spotted them. "Ms. Jaymes, Mr. Claybourne."

"You can call us Rayna and Deacon." She was almost sure she'd already told him the same thing when they had first met him, last week, at the Highway 65 offices.

It was planned Deacon and she would record an interview segment, and then, along with the girls, they would all perform an acoustic version of 'A Life That's Good.' She couldn't think of a better song to be featured in a movie about the history of the Bluebird than one that had been written here, on a napkin, more that 25 years ago.

They decided to settle at a table while waiting for the hair and makeup people to arrive. Maddie, meanwhile, chose to wander around the room, seizing the opportunity to take a longer look at all the posters and pictures on the walls, something that was less easy to do when the place was crowded.

"Hey, Mom?" she called. She was standing in front of an old framed picture of her parents, and Rayna got up to join her.

"What?"

"When is this one from?"

"I'm not sure. Probably '90 or '91?"

Maddie was silent then, her gaze fixated on the photo.

"What's going on in that brain of yours?" Rayna asked, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her daughter's ear.

"I'm thinking it's something I'll never get to experience, I mean, to start in a place like this and make a name on my own. People will always label me as the daughter of Rayna Jaymes and Deacon Claybourne. They'll always have certain... expectations. I guess."

"Honey, it's up to you to change that. Hell, I was the daughter of Lamar Wyatt. Trust me, people had very different expectations from me. I chose my own path. You can choose yours." She saw Maddie meditate upon her words and start to look amused after a while. "What?" Rayna asked, curious.

"My very existence is thanks to this place."

Rayna smiled at that. "Honey, no matter where, not matter how, your dad and I would have met anyway."

If there was one thing in life Rayna Jaymes was truly, fully, unquestionably sure of, it was this one.

—

"Sadie? It's me."

Rayna knocked again. She glimpsed at the empty street behind her. No one seemed to want to be outside in this freezing January weather. She heard the locks being unbolted before the door opened.

"Listen, I think I overreacted when I called you, I shouldn't ha—"

"Sadie," Rayna interrupted, gently.

Sadie raised her head, still avoiding to look at Rayna, but the bruise on the left side of her face was now in full display. It was so swollen she could barely keep her eye open.

"What _happened_?" Rayna asked, horrified.

Sadie moved aside so Rayna could make her way into the house. "Pete dropped by. I didn't let him in, and I told him to get the hell off my porch, so he..." She gestured at her face, her voice breaking.

He'd come to threaten her with a lawsuit, but she'd stood up to him. She wasn't the same scared little girl she'd been ten years ago. He, on the other hand, was still the same violent, damaged, awful man.

"I'm going to drive you to the hospital."

"No," Sadie protested. "I don't need to. I'll just... It will be fine."

"We need to call the police. You need to press charges."

"No," she reiterated. "I don't want any of this getting out in the press."

Rayna reached her hand out, she waited a few seconds before she put it on Sadie's arm, she searched her face to make sure it was ok to.

"I thought, you know..." Sadie began, "I thought all this was behind me. I thought I had _left_ all this."

She sat down on her couch, and Rayna kneeled in front of her, covering Sadie's hand with hers.

"I know how difficult it must have been for you to call me. But you did. And I'm here now. Let me help you if I can."

—

"Everything ok?" Deacon asked as he answered his phone. They had been in the middle of getting Sunday lunch ready when Sadie had called. It was three hours ago, and despite Rayna's text telling him and the girls not to wait for her, he was worried.

"Not really. Listen, I'll explain everything later, but I just wanted to call to say Sadie is going to stay with us for a few days. Is it ok with you?"

"Of course."

"And I was supposed to throw Juliette's baby shower this afternoon. I informed Glenn I couldn't make it, but there's a gift on the hallway dresser, would you agree to bring it over for me?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, babe. I'm sorry I have to ask."

"It's no trouble."

"Hey," she added before he hung up, "I just... I _love_ you."

"I love you too, baby."

—

Deacon had a plan. He even had a whole speech prepared. He was going to ring the bell, apologize on behalf of Rayna, give Juliette her gift and then, as soon as good manners would allow, scurry back to his truck. He knew that if he were to put one foot in the house, he would not get out any time soon and, as much as he loved Juliette, there wasn't a chance in hell he was going to attend a baby shower of all things.

The ringing of the bell part went according to plan. Everything after... not so much.

Juliette opened the door looking ten different kinds of pissed, mumbled a vague "Look who decided to show up," turned around and walked away before Deacon had time to utter a single word. He pondered, for a second, dropping the gift on the doormat and running for his life. He sighed, though, and followed Juliette inside. On his way to the living room, he stopped to pick up a giant stuffed giraffe which was lying in the middle of the path.

"Looks like it was some shower," he commented.

The room was a _mess_. There were remnants of what he guessed used to be a cake spread on the wall, all kinds of pink and pastel objects scattered across the floor.

"No, not really, I decided to cancel it when I figured out that nobody cared enough to show up. Not even my hostess."

"Listen, Rayna is _really_ sorry, but something came up with Sadie."

"Sadie. Of course, it was Sadie. She just gets all the attention. I mean now that Rayna has a new shining toy, why would she have time for me anymore?"

"Oh, come on. Now you're just being ridiculous."

"You know what? Yes, I am. And I don't care!" she fumed. "Because it seems to me that everything and everyone is more important than me, more important than my baby, than my shower, than my feelings, than—"

"Will you stop it?" he snapped. "I get you're upset, but that is no reason to dump on me!"

"Oh, my god."

Deacon immediately regretted having raised his voice. "I know, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"No, no, no, it's not... I think my water just broke."

"Oh."

_Oh._

This was _not_ part of the plan.

—

The last place Deacon Claybourne had ever thought he would find himself someday was in a delivery room while holding Juliette Barnes' hand.

"This can't be happening. Not three weeks early, not without Avery."

"He's on his way, I'm _sure_ he'll get here on time." Deacon was as much trying to convince himself as he was trying to convince Juliette. "Hey, listen, I'm gonna step outside real quick, I'm gonna try to reach Glenn and Emily again, ok?"

"You'll be back?" She looked more scared than he'd ever seen her.

"I promise."

When in the hallway, he took his phone out and noticed he had four missed calls from Rayna. Now that he thought about it, it was possible he might have gotten a little carried away with the text he'd sent her. 'AT BELMONT GENERAL. WILL CALL WHEN I CAN.'

She picked up at the first ring. "Babe, you're ok?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I reckon my text was a little cryptic."

"A _little_?!" They would someday have to discuss his often questionable use of all caps. "What are you doing at the hospital?"

"I had to drive Juliette. Her water broke while I was at her house."

"You—" Rayna was at loss for words. She laughed then, a genuine, involuntary laugh, all the tension of the day seemingly finding this as a way out.

"I know." He smiled, rubbing a hand over his face. "Crazy day much?"

—

It was dark when Deacon pushed the patio door leading into Rayna's backyard. He walked along the pool until he got to the covered outdoor fireplace at the other end.

"You're here," Rayna said.

"I'm here."

She was wrapped in a blanket, sitting on one of the couches. Between the warmth of the fire and the heaters, the temperature was more than tolerable. He didn't even know this place could be used in winter, but they hadn't spent a lot of time in this house since he and Rayna had gotten back together. They'd mostly been on the road.

"Mind to share?" he asked, pointing at the blanket. He sat next to her, and she covered the two of them with it. He kissed her, taking his time.

"Hey," she said, a little breathless.

"Hey."

"If you're here, I'm guessing Avery got there in time?"

"He did." A few years ago, Deacon would never have believed he'd someday be so happy to see Avery Barkley's face. "I left when Glenn and Emily arrived, they promised to keep us updated. How's Sadie?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. I offered her to stay in the pool house, so she can have her own space. She liked the idea better than the guest room. I want her to feel safe, you know."

"We won't let this asshole get anywhere near her again."

"She filed a restraining order, but it doesn't reassure me. She's getting in studio next week. I wished she would let me hire someone to protect her."

She put her head on Deacon's shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her. He felt her shiver. "Are you cold? Should we go inside?" he asked.

"Just a few more minutes."

He pulled her closer into him. They had all the time in the world.

—

_TBC_

_A/N: No cancer and no Natasha in this version, because even Teddy deserved better._


	6. Chapter 6

**UPDATE**: It's been awhile, and I apologize about that. I've decided I'm going to rewrite this latest chapter. I want to go in another direction and give this story a proper ending.


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